Surviving Abuse
by Rina Hino
Summary: Can Rei Hino survive her dad?


Little Rei Hino screamed in pain as she was struck on the face from her dad. "No daddy! Please, don't hurt me!" she had screamed in pain. "You will learn your place, and not ever say no to me!" her father yelled, this time delivering a blow to the young girl in the stomach. This blow knocked the wind out of her as well as leaving a bruise the shape of a fist.  
  
Rei Hino awoke with a start, her hand immediately clutched her stomach as she sat there and tried not to cry. She was no longer with her father; she was living at the Cherry Hill Temple with her grandfather. "You were screaming out in your sleep again Rei" a soft voice said to her, Rei looked over at the owner of that voice and smiled. "You're always here for me Grandpa. I hope I didn't wake you." "It's ok my child," Grandpa walked over to his granddaughter and hugged her, "I'm here for you, I won't let him hurt you, again." "Thank you" Rei said as she gratefully returned the hug and cried on grandpa's shoulder. 'I won't let him hurt you, Rei. I will keep you safe, I promise.' Grandpa Hino thought as he watched his granddaughter cry herself to sleep on his shoulder.  
  
He gently laid her back down in her bed as he left to go pray to the sacred fire. He had to stop this; Rei woke up almost every night with nightmares. Grandpa Hino knew that it was partly his fault because he still let Rei's father influence the child greatly. Rei went to a private catholic school, at her father's insistence, and Rei's dad insisted on sending money to her to make him look better in the public eye, so that it didn't look like he was abandoning a child. Rei was now 15 and a beautiful sight to look at, the money that her father was sending was stepping up and grandpa feared that he'd take Rei away.  
  
Grandpa remembered that day, so long ago when he had walked in on them.  
  
"DADDY!" Rei screamed out, her exposed butt was all red and sore, as the grown man kept hitting it with his belt, harder and harder. Her little girl underwear had been pulled down, and her dress pushed up. Grandpa had looked on horrified as little Rei was screaming, and tears pouring out of her eyes. He noticed, for the first time, several other bruises on her small body, probably caused by her father. "STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Grandpa screamed, the politician of a father raised his head and stared horrified at Grandpa. "How much do you want?" he said, quickly redressing his daughter "That's my grandchild and you're trying to give me money to shut me up! I'll have this all over the Tokyo press tomorrow!"  
  
"Who's gonna believe you?"  
  
"The marks on your daughter will prove it. Not too mention I can bring up the image at anytime I want." "What do you want old man?" The father hissed dangerously at Grandpa. "Give Rei to me, let me take care of her." "But the voters." "Either give me Rei or this will be all over Japan by tomorrow."  
  
"Fine" the father growled.  
  
Grandpa prayed to the fire. The fire gave him peace and he needed to know what was going to happen. An image appeared to him through the flames. The image was of her father. He was going to come and get her. Just as Grandpa had feared it would be. Rei wasn't safe now. Grandpa would have to deal with her father himself.  
  
He waited. Over the course of the next week Grandpa was preparing for something, and he never told Rei what it was for. Rei sensed it, in the air; something bad was going to happen. Lately, the storms have been coming badly. Thunder and lightening crashing down caused the birds much havoc. Rei didn't know what was going on, in her heart she felt that a battle was coming up, but a battle for what?  
  
She found out. One day after school Rei was walking up the temple steps, ready to jump into the springs that were behind the temple, but she seen him. She barely recognized him, but she knew who he was. Her father the politician was at the temple, yelling at her grandpa, when Rei got close enough she heard.  
  
"She's my daughter! I'll take her if I wish!" "No, Rei is mine now! I won't let you abuse her again!"  
  
At these words Rei dropped all of her stuff as a flood of memories came back to her.  
  
"Daddy no!" Little Rei yelled "You little brat! You will not talk to me like that in public again! You are female, you are not to be heard!" And with that, her father began to beat the young child, until bruises were all over her body.  
  
Rei made a startled gasp as the image came back to her, these were things that she had tried to block out of her mind a long time ago, and had barely succeeded, sometimes she got dreams still, after all these years. "Rei honey are you alright?" her father asked, immediately running to her "No! What are you doing here?" Rei asked him, ignoring his helping hand "I'm here to get you. Rei, we can be a family again, just the two of us"  
  
"No! Get out of here!" Rei yelled at him, although she wanted to believe that he was telling the truth, she wanted to think that she could be with him again "Don't yell at me!" Rei's father said crashing all of Rei's hope. "NO! Get out of here, I want to stay with Grandpa." "Fine, don't expect to count on me anymore"  
  
"I don't." Rei whispered as she fell to the ground. She felt like she had just had one of the biggest battles in her life. She had honestly wanted to think that he had changed, but the tone of voice that he used told her that he was still the same abusive man. Rei shuddered when she thought about what he would do to her now that she was older. She knew what she was giving up, air conditioning, and a material girl world, anything she ever wanted but that didn't matter. What mattered to Rei was that she had a nice caring home. Grandpa Hino wanted her, whereas her father only wanted her to make himself look good in the political world. Grandpa Hino had been there for her, had saved her, hadn't given her bruises, and had loved her. He had provided a nice home for her.  
  
Grandpa had been there, when Rei's dad hadn't. Now, it was time to get rid of her dad once and for all.  
  
Rei went into school the next day with an extra bounce in her step. This was unusual and many students stopped to stare at the girl as she went passed them. They never thought this would happen! Rei was one of the bitchiest and best girls in the school. A lot of guys dreamed about her, a lot of girls admired her, and to see her happy was shocking. No one expected this!  
  
People watched her throughout the day, not understanding what was going on with her. They watched wondering when their questions were going to be answered. Had she gotten a boyfriend? Was she top of the class? Was something personal going on in her life? Did she get straight A's?  
  
Finally, Rei seized her opportunity. The whole class stared in shock as Rei stood up in class. This was prohibited. "Rei is something wrong?" The nun asked, confused "Yes something is terribly wrong" Rei said "Why what is it child?" The teacher asked, ready with her cross, thinking it may help. "This school is wrong. I hate it here. My dad is the one that forces me to go here. I am not catholic I'm Shinto. Yep, that's a right folk. Shinto. I guess that I won't be seeing you all in heaven as you tell me everyday, huh? I love being in the Shinto religion, I hate hearing about your God day after day, each day I hear about it, the more I hate it! I'm tired of your rules, your "  
  
"REI HINO! SIT DOWN! IF YOU SAY ONE MORE WORD THEN YOU'LL BE EXPELLED!" "Good, I'm out of here have fun! BTW, I meant every word! I am not Catholic girl material. I am A Shinto priestess in training, actually. Good-bye!" Then Rei picked up her stuff and walked out of the class.  
  
When she walked outside she let her hair blow in the wind, and smiled. It was a smile of completeness. Rei had transferred all the bank money that was her dad's back to him, and she had now gotten rid of everything that her father had given her. She had let the dark clouds lift, realizing for the first time, that they were in her heart, not in the clouds. 


End file.
